Method for mixing shaken drinks

ABSTRACT

A method for using an array of bar accessories to facilitate preparation of the sort of drink which is made by shaking together liquor and ice with a suitable premix. Several shaker shells are hung by their pedestal bases from C-shaped racks. Each shaker shell carries indicia which match indicia carried on a rack. The glass in which the drink is served cooperates with the shaker shell. Ice, liquor and premix are combined in such proportion as to fill precisely the type of glass appropriate to each drink.

This invention relates to the preparation of "on-the-rocks" types ofmixed drinks, of the kinds which are shaken with ice, which underconventional methods use a mixing glass and a shaker shell to form atight composite container which is shaken until the contents issufficiently mixed and cooled, and is opened after shaking to pour thedesired drink from the shaker shell, usually through an ice screen, intoa serving glass in which ice has usually been placed.

The conventional method of filling an order for a drink of the type hereunder discussion, such as a Whisky Sour "on the rocks", is this: thebartender wipes the bar top and picks up a shaker glass, which he setson top of the bar, sometimes scooping up cracked ice in it, en route.Alternatively, he may set the shaker glass on the bar top and fill it bypicking up an ice scoop, dipping it into the ice, and pouring ice fromscoop to shaker glass. The scoop is then returned to its place. He thenpicks up the whisky jigger, and the whisky bottle, pours the whiskeyinto the jigger, and pours the measured quantity in the jigger into theshaker glass, following which he puts down the jigger and puts down thewhisky bottle.

Now, under the coventional method, he picks up the bottle of premix,which contains the materials prepared in advance for use in making aWhisky Sour, such as lemon juice, sweetening, and flavoring. This ismeasured into the whisky jigger, and poured into the shaker glass. Sincetwo portions of premix are customarily used in relation to one ofwhisky, he repeats this step, making a second addition of premix, andthen puts down the bottle of premix, and also the whisky jigger. Now, hepicks up the metal shaker top and applies it to the shaker glass, and,holding the two tightly together, shakes until ice, whisky and premixhave become one blended drink, at the desired degree of chill.

Now, he removes the metal shaker top and puts it down, sets the glassshaker bottom down on the bar top, picks up the serving glass, and setsit on the bar top. He picks up an ice scoop and pours ice into theserving glass. Then he picks up the ice strainer, places it in theshaker glass and pours the drink from the shaker glass into the servingglass. Then he puts down the strainer, throws away the remaining ice,then adds garnish (cherry - orange slice) to the drink, inserts adrinking straw, places on a paper doily, and at last he serves theguest.

After this, he must wash, rinse ans sterilize the metal shaker top, thenwash, rinse and sterilize the glass shaker bottom. He also must wash,rinse and sterilize the strainer and usually the jigger also.

Among the objects of the invention are the following: To expedite thepreparing of shaken drinks by reducing the number of operations involvedfrom about 50 to less than half that number, thus reducing the timeinvolved from 70 seconds to less than 30 seconds; to reduce the amountof ice used; to avoid the intermingling of residual flavors, such asmight arise from using the same utensils to mix different drinks; toeliminate the risk of tasting any soap/detergent film not completelyrinsed away; to avoid the necessity for quite so much washing, rinsingand sterilization; to ensure that the utensils used are so placed as todrain thermselves; and, in the preferred embodiment, to reduce thenumber of utensils needed, thus eliminating the need for handling them.The whisky jigger for instance is normally picked up and set down atleast ten times in the making of a single drink. The need to pick up andset down the ice is reduced to one handling. The metal shaker top, theglass shaker and the strainer are eliminated entirely, and likewise thehandling of them.

An incidental but quite desirable object of the invention is to providean arrangement of bar accessories which may be mounted near the rearedge of the bar top, directly under the bar, which is an unusuallyconvenient location.

How these and other objectives which are incident to my invention orwhich might occur to those skilled in the art may be attained will bebetter understood with reference to the description which follows, andwhich is prepared with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an array of bar accessories, comprising a series ofslide racks and two types of shaker shells;

FIG. 2 illustrates one of the shaker shells shown on the left of FIG. 1,and shows in dot-and-dash lines the positions occupied by two types ofserving glasses inserted into the shaker shell;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the shaker shell shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates, in front elevation, a measuring/shaker shellconfigured to serve measuring purposes as well as shaker purposes;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the measuring/shaker shell shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of the measuring/shaker shell shown inFIG. 4. As in FIG. 2, there are shown in dot-and-dash outline, two typesof serving glasses which may be used with the measuring/shaker shell ofmy preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the slide racks with anadjacent rack indicated in dot-and-dash lines with its securing tabs instaggered relation to the tabs of the adjacent rack thus enabling closerspacing of the racks.

The drawing diagrammatically illustrates, in FIG. 1, a series of slideracks 10, to be mounted beneath the top of the bar, for access from therear. Each slide rack 10 has inturned rolled edges 12, with clearancebetween them, to form a C-shaped channel to support the pedestals of theutensils while permitting them to slide freely therein. The slide rack10 has a series of tabs 11 running on both sides. As shown in the lefthalf of FIG. 1, the tabs 11 are of such a length that when those on onerack are butted against the matching tabs 11 of the adjacent rack, thecorrect spacing between slides 10 is automatically provided, so that oneutensil will not interfere with its neighbor. The spacing shown to theleft in FIG. 1 is appropriate for shaker shells which have circularrims, as shown in FIG. 3.

Alternatively, as shown on the right in FIG. 1, closer spacing of theracks may be obtained by staggering the tabs 11a of one rack 10a withrelation to the tabs 11 of the adjacent rack 10 as shown in FIG. 7. Theoval rim of the glass in FIG. 5 permits such closer spacing of theracks.

The C-shaped slide racks 10 are attached to the underside of the bar topwith wood screws 13 through the tabs 11. Each slide rack extends fromthe underside of the bar top which is nearest the bartender at rightangles to the edge of the bar top, and towards the front of the bar,which is remote from the bartender. These slide racks are preferablydeeper than a single pedestal of the utensils which they are intended tohold, so that each slide rack may support two or more utensils, onebehind the other.

These utensils are of two tyes. The shaker shell 15 may be of glass orof plastic, or a combination of both. It has a pedestal 16 which is wideenough to be supported on the upper faces of the rolled edges 12 of theslide rack 10, and it has a neck 17 which is produced by narrowing thestem or base of the glass 18 so as to form companion slots 18',18' rightand left, to be received between the rolled edges 12 of the slide rack10. The neck 17 therefore has an almost rectilinear outline, so that itholds the glass which is nested in it quite firmly, thereby making iteasy to use the structure shown without having one glass interfere withits neighbor or chip the edges or shift out of position.

To the right of the three shaker shells 15, in FIG. 1, threedifferently-shaped glasses 19 are shown, for purposes of illustration.The break 20 in between the tabs 11 indicates the possibility ofindefinite extension. The measuring/shaker shells shown in this figureare provided, like the shaker shells in FIG. 2, with pedestals 16' eachhaving a neck portion 17' and each of these is received between matingrolled edges 12 in the slide racks 10, so that the receptacle itselfhangs upside down, in which position it quickly and thoroughly drainsand dries.

In FIG. 2, one of the shaker shells 15 has been removed from the rackand stood upon its pedestal 16 with its neck 17 now free of the rollededges 12 in slide rack 10. The mouth of this shaker shell may be eitherarcuate in section like the mouth of a bell, as shown at 21, or it maybe tapered more or less sharply in frustoconical form, as shown in FIG.6. The purpose, of course, is to facilitate bringing the shaker shell 15into sealing engagement with one of the serving glasses 22 or 23. Forpurposes of illustration, I have shown, in broken lines, two differentsize serving glasses. The inner one, numbered 22, is of the appropriatedimension for mixing such a drink as the "Tom Collins." It is similar toa highball glass. The outer one 23 is a lowball glass, such as isfrequently used for such drinks as the "Alexander."

The measuring/shaker shell illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 is one of themeasuring/shaker shells identified as 19 above. It is shaped interiorlyso that it can be used to perform conventional measuring functions whenit is used for preparing the type of drink which is here underdiscussion. The pedestal 16' and neck 17' are of the same size in themeasuring/shaker shell 19 as in the shaker shell 15.

The lower portion of the measuring/shaker shell 19, immediately abovethe neck 17', is of relatively small diameter and of relatively lowheight. To facilitate measuring, it is desirable that there should be anindication at the base when the volume contained within themeasuring/shaker shell reaches the level of 1 ounce. This is the volumeof the space 24, which is indicated by an offset shoulder 25, whichcrosses the front of the measuring/shaker shell.

FIG. 6 is a side view in section of the measuring/shaker shell shown infront elevation in FIG. 4. It will be seen that the shoulder 25 extendstowards the rear of the measuring/shaker shell only about halfway. Atthis point, the measuring/shaker shell is offset sidewise, to providethe shoulder 26, which does not appear in the face view. When the liquidin the bottom of the measuring/shaker shell reaches the level of theshoulder 26, the volume of the space below that level is preferably 11/2ounces.

In like manner, I have provided the shoulder 27, which marks the nextstep in the preparation of the type of drink which we are hereconsidering, namely one in which an ounce or an ounce and a half ofstrong liquor or liqueur is used, in relation to premixed ingredients,such as a blend of lemon juice, sugar and possibly bitters, inproportions approximately double those of the strong drink or liqueur.

When there is one ounce of strong drink in the measuring/shaker shell,the shoulder 27 will preferably mark the level to be reached when 2ounces of premix are added, and when the initial charge is 11/2 ounces,that is, up to the shoulder 26, the addition of premix up to the levelof the shoulder 28 will represent double the volume of the liquor belowthe shoulder 26.

Ice may then be added to the level shown by the top of the marker 31when the large serving glass 22 is to be used; and to the level shown bythe top of the marker 30 when the small serving glass 23 is to be used.This is to assure that the total volume of the hard liquor, the premix,and the ice does not exceed the volume of the respective serving glassesused.

Thereupon, the serving glass 22 or 23, as the case may be, is applied tothe measuring/shaker shell, and securely held against themeasuring/shaker shell 19. When the drink has been sufficiently shaken,the whole is inverted so that the measuring/shaker shell is on the top,and the drink with its ice therein is on the bottom. Removal of theempty measuring/shaker shell by separation leaves the drink in theserving glass, 22 or 23, ready to serve.

It is to be noted that, in the present circumstances, it is notnecessary to wash away the excess liquid which remains in themeasuring/shaker shell. This may safely be left in the measuring/shakershell, for it is an important advantage of my present invention toemploy a coding system for all of the accessories used. It is for thisreason that the slide rack 10 has been designed so that by assemblingone next to the other a plurality of slide racks may be provided, eachof which is coded, preferably color coded, to show the type of drinkintended to be mixed in the measuring/shaker shells which it holds.Similarly, identifying indicia may be applied to the measuring/shakershell which match the indicia carried by the slide rack 10, so that eachmeasuring/shaker shell is coded to match the coding of the slide inwhich it is carried.

When this has been properly attended to, the same measuring/shakershells are always used to mix the same kind of drink, and that kind ofdrink only. They therefore do not need to be washed, rinsed orsterilized between drinks, in order to remove traces of flavoring beforeusing them to mix a different drink. Since they are not washed, there isno need to rinse them to remove dishwashing residues. A great deal oftime is saved simply by coding the utensils used and avoidingunnecessary washing, rinsing or sterilizing. Beyond this, the bartendervery shortly becomes so familiar with his array of glasses that he doesnot even need to look at what he is doing in order to be sure that heselects the right one.

In most cases the space below the bar is strictly limited, in alengthwise direction. It is therefore necessary to crowd the greatestpossible number of utensils into a given span of racks. For this reasonespecially, the oval-shaped pedestal shown in FIG. 5 is especiallyuseful. Forming the mouth portion of the lip 32 in the shape of an oval,as in FIG. 5, rather than in the shape of a circle, as in FIG. 3,permits the storing of more articles in a given space, even though theshape is not as attractive, in the eyes of some customers, as the rathergraceful contour of FIG. 2.

The oval shape of the lip 32 not only facilitates close storing, it alsopermits one-hand operation with either of the serving glasses 22 or 23and the measuring/shaker shell 19 engaged with the one or with theother. Thus engaged, both may be picked up with one hand. The thumb isplaced above the wide portion of the lip 32, pressing against theserving glass 22 or 23; the forefinger engages the opposite side of theglass, pressing against it; and the palm of the hand is positioned atthe narrow portion of the lip 32. The middle finger, the ring finger andthe little finger are placed below the wide portion of the lip 32, andpress the measuring/shaker shell 19 against the palm of the hand, thusforming a secure one-hand operation. Two drinks can be mixed at onetime, one in each hand.

The coding of the racks with the shells which they support can beeffected in various ways. I prefer simply to use matching colors, sincethis promotes instant recognition and is normally quite safe. However,it may be desirable to apply a different coding system in order to makecertain that confusion does not result at the hands of a bartender whois color-blind. For this purpose, almost any appropriate symbols may beused. The simple geometric shapes are easily recognized, and may bedisplayed along the edge of the top of the bar which faces thebartender, placing a different one at the working end of each C-sectionchannel or slide rack. The matching symbol is positioned on the body ofall shaker shells to be mounted in that rack. Preferably the symbol isrepeated often enough around the circumference of each shell to makesure that it can be readily seen, no matter which face is towards thebartender. Thus, purely for illustrative purposes, the diamond 35 marksthe left hand shell 15, and the diamond 36 marks the left hand sliderack in which such shells are mounted. The remaining shells and racksmay be marked in like manner, matching circles with circles, triangleswith triangles, etc.

I claim:
 1. The method of preparing potable drinks of the type produced by shaking measured quantities of at least two different constituents with ice particles, and then serving the shaken drink in a serving glass containing ice particles, which method comprises positioning a plurality of shaker shells in a horizontal support from which they depend with their open ends downward, and from which they are selectively and alternatively removable, each of said shaker shells being conspicuously marked with indicia designating one only of various kinds of drinks; placing in a shaker shell the indicated quantity of each of the ingredients desired to produce a blended drink of the type designated, bringing the open end of the shaker shell into registering engagement with the open end of a serving glass of the desired type, holding the serving glass and shaker shell as a unit while shaking them to effect complete mixing of the desired drink, turning the shaken drink, including its ice content, into the serving glass, removing the shaker shell, serving the drink, and replacing the shaker shell in the support mentioned, in preparation for use solely in mixing additional drinks of the species designated by the indicia on that shell.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection and replacement of shells is facilitated by coding each support with the same indicia as is carried by the shaker shells which are supported therein.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shaker shell is provided with stepped graduations indicating the desired quantities of the ingredients to be combined in preparing a drink of the type corresponding to the indicia which it carries. 